Top 10 Songs of 2013

Friday

Dec 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Associated Press music writers Chris Talbott and Mesfin Fekadu pick their top five songs of the year.

Chris Talbott's picks

1. Drake, "Started from the Bottom": Sometimes a song hits you at the right time and place in life, becomes a part of the soundtrack for your list of moments. "Started from the Bottom" is one of these songs. I'll never forget where I was when I heard it. And I'll never forget how it crystallized what I was feeling at the moment. Drake got dinged because he didn't exactly start at the bottom, but the simple and hypnotic song is an anthem for anyone lucky enough to feel like a world-beater for a day.

2. Kanye West, "Blood on the Leaves": On an album packed full of thought-provoking music, "Blood on the Leaves" showed just how far ahead of everyone else West is.

3. J. Cole featuring Kendrick Lamar, "Forbidden Fruit": There were a lot of great songs on Cole's "Born Sinner," but he takes it to another level with the game's top player guesting on this throwback ode to A Tribe Called Quest. This song serves as Cole's "Control," the song Lamar used to announce his greatness.

4. Dawes, "From a Window Seat": A coincidence: I sit down in a window seat on a flight and hit play. It's this song. I hit repeat. And again. And again. Songs like this don't really exist anymore. The craft has changed, the value of storytelling diminished. Musically and lyrically, "Window Seat" transports you to other times and places.

5. Ashley Monroe, "Weed Instead of Roses," and Brandy Clark, "Get High": While the men of country were hogging all the radio airplay, leaving a trail of empties in their wake, these 20-something women joined with Kacey Musgraves to push the genre forward. Musically traditional, but lyrically modern in every way, Monroe and Clark are making music for the legions of fans turned on to country music as teens by Taylor Swift, and now navigating adult life. The songwriting is mature and of the moment, the music vital

2. Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell and T.I., "Blurred Lines": Robin Thicke has been making impressive music for more than a decade, but it's nice to see him achieve his pop success with "Blurred Lines."

3. Solange, "Lovers In the Parking Lot": Like Solange's "Losing You," released last year, "Lovers In the Parking Lot" proves that she is a multi-talent who has a voice worth listening to.

4. Lady Gaga featuring R. Kelly, "Do What U Want": Despite Lady Gaga and R. Kelly's cringe worthy "Saturday Night Live" performance, their work together is impeccable. "Do What U Want" is a top notch track with a backbeat that is engaging.

5. Lana Del Rey, "Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)": A year after her "SNL" disaster, Lana Del Rey broke into the top 10 with a remix of "Summertime Sadness," an electronic dance number that makes the original mid-tempo version, already an incredible track, even more likeable.

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